Drug discoveries require methodologies to screen new compounds in small quantities using model systems in a high-throughput manner. Screening compounds in model systems are necessary to obtain new hits before the compounds are taken for clinical or human trials. The two types of model systems are in vitro (performed with cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context) and in vivo (performed on whole, living organisms) model systems. Whole organism in vivo models are far better than the 2D/3D in vitro systems that use cell lines, accounting for more factors and providing more accurate results.
Traditionally, high-throughput drug screens are based on in vitro cell cultures which do not delineate all the aspect of in vivo testing such as drug absorption, circulation, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity as found in humans. Use of in vitro model in drug discoveries has encountered with poor hit-to-lead rates and clinical translation. On the other hand, traditional in vivo testing models have been either low-throughput or low resolution, hindering the testing process.
Typically, in vivo models are conducted on basic organisms such as C. elegans, C. brigsae, and plenaria. The C. elegans is particularly well suited to in vivo models due to its short life span, well characterized genetics, simple neuronal circuit, small number of cellular architecture, and amenable worm body throughout its development. The C. elegans genome share approximately 65% homology with human disease genes and has been an attractive platform for elucidating disease pathways. Because of its faster life cycle and smaller genome size, C. elegans provides a useful tool for genetic manipulation. New disease models have been demonstrated using C. elegans for neurological diseases, genetic disorder, cancer, and developmental disorder etc.
The typical testing methods for worms such as C. elegans includes placing the worms in the wells of a multi-well plate and analyzing them using anesthetic solution. However, the worms in the wells are not aligned or organized properly using this method. For example, in high density fluid the worms can settle at the bottom of the well and stack up on top of each other. On the other hand, in low density fluid the worms are better isolated but require more imaging data in order to produce sufficient data for statistical analysis. In light of the drawbacks of current methods, there exists a need for a high-throughput imaging system for accurate, high quality, and high speed in vivo screening of organisms such as C. elegans. 
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